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(no Model.) 2 SheetsSh eet 1, W. RABERGROMBIE. BUTTONHOLE SEWING MACHINE.

Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

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BUTTONHOLB SEWING MACHINE;

'No. 565,951. I Patented Aug. 18,1896.

(1 x o l a :f "I c b o i e @v cfl o I Q o l :1 3 c UNITED STATES p PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM ROBERT ABERCROMBIE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT,

ASSIGNOR TO THE \VHEELER & WILSON MANUFACTURING COM- PANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BUTTONHOLE-S EWING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,951, dated August 18, Application filed January 6, 1896. Serial No. 574,483. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM ROBERT ABERCROMBIE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident'of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buttonhole- Sewing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to produce a buttonhole-sewing machine which will produce buttonholes of the most widely varying sizes without the application of special clamps or fixtures to adapt it to such varying sizes,

as is necessary with ordinary buttonhole-sewmg machines, and to so connect the operative parts thereof that the work (1;. e. the garments) may be quickly manipulated and the production of the machine thereby increased.-

I obtain these objects by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which my invention is shown as applied to a Wheeler & Wilson zigzag or overseaming sewing-machine, which, though constituting no part of this invention, I deem it necessary to briefly describe to render clear the application of my invention thereto, and it being necessary to refer to some of its parts by letter such parts will be designated by smallletters, while those included in my invention will be designated by capital letters,

that its several parts may be readily distinguishable.

The parts of the sewing-machine to which it will be necessary to refer are lettered and named as follows: ais the needle-bar; b, gate; 0, connecting-bar; d, segment-lever; e, pivotal stud; f and g, stops; h, stitch-regulating The vibratory action of the gate b, and hence of the needle-bar and needle, is pro duced by means of the segment-lever cl, Whose movement is vibratory and always to the same extent, its pivotal center being near its upper end, and the gateb and the segment-lever 01 being joined by means of the connectingbar 0. This connecting-bar c is pivotally at tached to both the gate b and the segmentlever d, but its connection with the latter is such that its firmly-aifixed pivotal stud 8 may extend into and be made to traverse, longi tudinally, the groove shown in the segmentlever d. otal stud e (and with it the adjustable end of the connecting-bar c, to which it is affixed) be placed at zero or directly in line with the fulcrum of the segment-lever d no vibratory action will be imparted to the needle-bar, but such action may be produced to any varying degree by moving the pivotal stud 6 downward (or outward from the fulcrum) and the width of the zigzag seam thereby regulated as desired. The groove in the segment-lever d is provided with an undercut or recess which widens the groove at its bottom, into which slide two nuts, fitted with screws, the heads of which are shown at f and g. These screws thus adjustably affixed serve as stops by which to limit the movement or throw of the pivotal stud e. 4

The location of the fulcrum or axis (not shown) of the segment-lever d is such that when the stop f is set to its uppermost limit and the pivotal stud 6 brought in contact therewith the latter will stand at zero, or where all lateral vibratory action of the needle-bar ceases.

The feeding of the fabric forward is effected in the ordinary manner by the feed proper of the sewing-machine, and is governable by the movement up or down of the stitch-regulatinglever, so called, (shown at 71,) and it is evident that by changing the length of the stitch or feed forward the successive overlying threads to left and right may be laid close together or far apart, as occasion requires.

In working buttonholes by the method herein described the ready control of the It follows, then, that if the said piv right and left oscillations of the needle-bar I and the feeding mechanism of the sewingmachine are of paramount importance, and the accomplishment of these objects is the purpose of my invention. To effect this purpose, I employ the devices shown in the accompanying drawings, which are designated by capital letters, as before stated.

The plate A is permanently secured to the arm of the sewing-machine, and upon said plate is fulcrumed the actuating-lever B. The forward end of said lever is provided with a slot, and the lever is so located that the slot therein will embrace the projecting pivotal stud e, and to the rear end of said lever is pivoted the upper end of the operating-rod O. The lower end of the operatingrod (1 is guided by passing through a hole in the bed, so called, of the sewing-machine, and is provided near its lower end with the spring F and an adjustable collar, (shown at G,) the uses of which will be hereinafter explained. Midway between its ends the rod 0 passes through an oblong hole in the stitchregulating lever h of the sewing-machine. Firmly but adjustably affixed to the operating-rod O are two spherically-shaped stitchregulating collars D and E, which are so set as to actuate the stitch-regulating lever h upward and downward, to whatever extent may be desired, by the movement of the operating-rod C. The lower extremity of the operating-rod C stands in such proximity to as to be acted upon by the operating-lever7c, (at least so far as to be thrust upward thereby,) but as said operating-lever forms no part of this invention its special construction need not be further explained. As thus applied the parts of my invention and the parts of the sewing-machine effected thereby all normally stand in the positions shown in Fig. 1, the coiled spring F being under sufficient constraint to force the operating-rod O downward until the pivotal stud e strikes the stop f and holds all parts in positions therein shown against displacement during the operation of the machine except as effected intentionally by the operator. In this position the pivotal stud e of the connecting-bar c is held at such distance from the fulcrum of the segment-lever d as to impart to the needle-bar aa vibratory movement, (to a limited extent,) as indicated bythe solid and dotted lines, which represent the needle-bar in its two positions, and the stitch-regulating lever h is forced downward by the stop D until the feeding mechanism is thrown into action sufficiently to advance the fabric the desired distance at each stitch. In the working of buttonholes by this process the stitching is formed along each side of the buttonhole, and may be done either before or after cutting the same, though they are preferably first cut in order that the threads of the stitching may more completely overlap and confine the loosened fibers of the cut edges of the fabric. When thus prepared, the work is placed beneath the presser-foot, the same as for ordinary sewing, and the work is so guided by a suitable gage that the stitches will be formed alternately on and off the edge of the previously-cut buttonhole, leaving a line of stitching as represented at 1 in Fig. 3.

hen the advancing fabric has progressed until the end of the buttonhole (which may be of any desired length) is reached, the knee of the operator is pressed against the operating-lever it, which, acting upon the rod 0, forces it upward against the resistance of the spring F, thus by contact of stop E forcing the stitch-regulating lever h upward, and simultaneously by means of the lever B the pivotal stud c downward, until obstructed by the stop 9, the relative position of the parts being then as shown in Fig. 2. By this action the feed of the machine is reduced to zero, which arrests the further advancement of the fabric, and the lateral vibrations of the needle-bar increased to double the origi nal extent, as indicated by the solid and the dotted lines of the needle-bar in Fig. 2. In this changed condition, which is effected without stopping the machine, the stitching is allowed to continue until the successive overlying threads have sufficiently strengthened or barred the end of the buttonhole, when the fabric is turned, the pressure is released from the operating-lever, and by action of the spring F the parts are restored to their original positions and the regular stitching again proceeds until the place of starting is reached, when the operating-lever is again brought into action, repeating the operation before described, and the stitching continued until that end is also sufficiently barred, when the buttonhole is completed, as represented at m in Fig. 3.

When in making buttonholes upon sleazy fabrics it may be necessary (by the adjustment of the stop f) to increase the lateral vibrations of the needle to take a deeper bite, so called, that the stitching may take a firmer hold upon the fabric, it follows that the wider throw used for barring must also be increased to bar the buttonhole properly, and the stop 9 and the stitch-regulating stop E need only to be set lower to accomplish that object.

It is often desirable to so change the feed of the machine as to lay a greater or less number of these zigzag stitches in a given distance, as, for instance, on cheaper grades of material where the quality is unimportant,the

also, the stitch-regulating stop E may be so. set upon the operating-rod C as to not force the stitch-regulating lever h entirely to zero,

, late the work, and the quantity of work produced is thereby greatly increased.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a buttonhole-sewing machine, the combination of the following instrumentalities, viz; needle-vibrating mechanism comprising the connecting-bar c and segment-lever cl; the movable pivotal stud e between said bar and lever, the actuating-lever B for moving the pivotal stud e, and the adjustable stops f and g on the segment-lever d for regulating maximum and minimum vibration of the needle; the stitch-regulating lever h; the operatinglever 70; the operating-rod 0 connected to the lever B and theoperating-lever k and carrying the adjustable stops D and E for regulating the maximum and minimum length of forward feed of the goods, as set forth.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, this 3d day of January, A. D. 1896.

WILLIAM ROBERT ABERCROMBIE. Witnesses:

O. N. WORTHEN, THos. CAMPBELL. 

